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Is the M4 relief road the first casualty of Labour’s leadership contest?

The M4 relief road was thrown into doubt this afternoon, after outgoing First Minister – Carwyn Jones – refused to commit the Welsh Government to its preferred ‘Black Route’.

Speaking in First Minister’s Questions, Carwyn Jones pointedly refused to back the route, despite his government having spent millions of pounds in preparatory work for its development – and having taken that route through to public consultation.

A number of routes have been proposed, but First Minister Carwyn Jones and the Welsh Government’s favoured option has always been the ‘black route’.

In May 2016 Carwyn Jones confirmed that the Welsh Government would not support the alternative – the ‘Blue Route’.

“One thing I will say is we wouldn’t support the blue route. There are a number of reasons for this.

“First of all, the blue route is dual carriageway, not a six-lane motorway, and that seems to me to defeat the whole object of a new road.”

Yet today, when asked to reaffirm his government’s commitment to an M4 Relief Road, the First Minister refused – even claiming that he’d never publicly expressed a preference.

“It looks like the M4 relief road is going to be the first casualty of Labour’s leadership contest.

“Despite spending millions of pounds preparing for the project – and despite having repeatedly backed the black route – the First Minister has now distanced himself from taking a decision.

“This is just the first major decision that will now be parked until a new leader is in place.

“This is why we need to see a swift resolution of the Labour leadership crisis, before the sense of inertia takes hold.

“On the current timetable, the new First Minister is unlikely to be in post before Christmas – just weeks before we leave the European Union, and several months after the public inquiry into the M4 relief road has reported.

“These decisions cannot simply be parked, and the Welsh public can’t be held to ransom because the Labour Party cannot agree on how to elect a new leader.

“That’s why we need to see a new First Minister with a mandate to take Wales forward in the coming weeks – not months.”